868 VERBENA. rCLASS XIV. ORDER II. 



roundish ovate, as long again as the footstalk, slightly crenated towards 

 the end, smooth, or slightly hairy, a bright green above, paler beneath. 

 Inflorescence an erect slender branch, cloven at the top, and bearing 

 on each branch an elegant pendulous flower, smooth below, downy and 

 glandular above. Bracteas two small narrow scales, from between 

 which the short slender pedical droops. Involucre of from two to five 

 small ovate hairy scales, close below the germen. Calyx in five equal 

 narrow lanceolate erect segments, downy. Corolla bell-shaped, the 

 tube narrow, cylindrical at the base, gradually dilated upwards, a 

 delicate yellowish pink, the limb in five acute lanceolate segments, 

 about one-fourth the depth of the tube. Stamens with awl-shaped 

 filaments inserted into the base of the corolla, two longer than the 

 others. Anthers oblong, two celled, yellow. Stijle longer than the 

 corolla. Stigma obtuse. Fruit a dry membranous three celled lerry^ 

 one cell usually fertile, the others abortive. Seed ovate oblong, pen- 

 dulous. 



Habitat. — Woods, especially of fir ; less frequent in open situations 

 in various parts of Scotland, not unfrequent, on the Clove mountains 

 and banks of the Esk, at Dalhousie. The only known station for it in 

 England was discovered by Miss E. Trevelyan in a plantation of 

 Scotch firs, at Catcherside, in the parish of EJartburn, Northumberland. 



Perennial; flowering in May and June. 



This extremely pretty and elegant little plant is rendered interesting, 

 to all botanists, from the name of the immortal Linnaeus, which it 

 transmits to posterity. He named it himself, and seems to have traced 

 a resemblance between the history of this " little northern plant, long 

 overlooked, depressed, abject, flowering early," and his own early bloom- 

 ing but long neglected career, and wandering, depressed by necessity, and 

 almost without hope, at length attained the notice of the learned and 

 the wise, and has transmitted an honoured name to posterity, never to 

 be forgotten as long as flowers, which are gems in the poetry of nature, 

 shall be studied either by the scientific student of nature, or the cul- 

 tivator of flowers, for their own beauty's sake. 



GENUS XXXV. VERBE'NA.— Linn. Vervain. 



Nat. Ord. Verbena'ce^. Juss. 



Gen. Char. Calyx tubular, five-cleft, mostly unequal. Corolla 

 tubular, with a spreading sublabiate five-cleft limb. Stamens 

 included, (sometimes by abortion only two). Fruit four nuts. — 

 Name ferfaen in Celtic, derived from /er, to drive away ; and 

 faen, a stone, from having been supposed to cure the complaint so 

 called. — Theis. 



